No Peace, Only War

"Saab, ye post clear hai... "
Ah, finally... He thought he was dying.. He would beat the kaafirs, for one last time.. He would not get caught... The blissful darkness enveloping him...

There was a mass of iron weighing heavy on his head. On his head, or in it? The effort to deduce this was too much, and he passed off again...

He did not want light. It blinded him, it made him want to tear his own eyes off... But the kaafirs, they made him look directly into the glare of sunshine magnified by the snow capped mountains and valleys. He was surprised, though... They were treating him well.. Actually, well treating was a relative term.. Getting two square meals a day, fifteen thousand feet above the sea level on a glacier was as good as he could hope to get..

The  destruction at their camp had been total. Even in the pitch dark of the night, the enemy fighters had decimated their posts to rubble. He had overheard that there had been only four prisoners captured alive, rest all were dead. And today, the doc was supposed to check him and report on his progress to the kaafirs...

"He is fit enough to be interrogated. But if you want him alive, do not push him too hard.. You would not want a repeat of the other case, I guess... You were a bit too brutal with him, I thought" The doc was telling the young captain. Bastard, he thought. A 25 odd year old guy, holding absolute power over him.

"What is your name, rank and unit?"
"Company Havildar Major Rahim Khan, 7Infantry Division."

"Ali saab, ye bhi 7 Div ka hi hai. Is ko custody mein bhej do."

One of his own working with the kaafirs? Was it a Godsent signal to try and escape? He could see the hills of his homeland in the not too distant landscape!!

"Ali saheb, aap mujhe qaid mein daalne ja rahe hain."
"Shh.. Dheere bolo."

He was being directed away from the camp. The ravine over there, it would be ideal for his escape. He could not believe his luck!!

Now they were at the edge of the ravine.. He could feel the shackles being removed from his hands behind his back...

"Go!"

He needed no second invite.. He was off into the ravine before the word reached his ears..

"Rahim Khan!"

He turned back startled. Ali had his AK 47 lined up. He did not hear the sound, he felt the pain first... A pain, and a queer warmth spreading over his chest...

"Ali saab, wo naye PoW ko bhi usi ravine mein hi daala hai?"

"Haan sirji"

"Theek hai. After all, no point carrying extra baggage. The bugger even when unconscious was mumbling about Geneva!!"



PS: I know this is a poor effort for the second half of the story, but am just not able to express the thoughts.. All apologies..